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by Mike Telin
On Sunday, April 27 the CMA Concerts at Transformer Station series concluded its inaugural season with a stunningly beautiful performance by Norwegian virtuoso classical accordionist Frode Haltli.
If you’re wondering about the term “classical accordionist,” you’re not alone. The instrument has yet to be recognized in many parts of the world as one associated with classical music. However by the end of his program that featured music by Hans Abrahamsen, Magnar Åm, Arne Nordheim and Aldo Clementi, Haltli had more than made a convincing case that the term is indeed fitting.
Written in 2006 and dedicated to Haltli, Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s Air is a simple atmospheric piece that worked perfectly as an opener to the program. The colors and subtle timbre changes Haltli produced were astonishing. Read the rest of this entry »
by Mike Telin
On Sunday, April 27 beginning at 7:30 pm, CMA Concerts at Transformer Station presents Norwegian virtuoso classical accordionist Frode Haltli. The program features music by Hans Abrahamsen, Magnar Åm, Arne Nordheim and Aldo Clementi. “Even though this program is classical contemporary music, I think it reflects my interests in different kinds of music,” Haltli said during a telephone conversation from his home in Norway. “It’s not your ordinary contemporary music, it [ventures] out into many different directions.”
If you’re wondering about the term “classical accordion” you’re not alone. The instrument has yet to be recognized in many parts of the world as one associated with classical music. So why is that different in Scandinavia? “It really is because of one person, Danish player Mogens Ellegaard. He was the first accordionist to introduce the instrument to real composers in Scandinavia. He really developed the accordion in a more classical way, although in my view it will never be a traditional “classical” instrument.”
Perhaps not, but if you take a quick glance at Haltli’s repertoire list on his website, you will find many recognizable contemporary composers such as Berio, Lindberg, Pintscher, Gubaidulina and Zorn, all of whom have composed for the instrument. Read the rest of this entry »
by Mike Telin
If you don’t know violinist Miranda Cuckson, you should. Cuckson, who has firmly established herself as one of the foremost interpreters of contemporary music — especially on the east coast — presented two area concerts last week at LCCC’s Signature Series (March 31) and CMA@ Transformer Station (April 1). I heard the Transformer Station concert.
Miranda Cuckson, who admits to having accumulated quite a bit of repertoire, admirably arrived with not one, but two concerts’ worth, nine works in total and including some of the most technically and physically demanding compositions in the contemporary solo violin canon.
Although soft spoken and slight of frame, Cuckson is a commanding performer with technique to spare. She possesses a bow arm that would be the envy of many violinists. She also has an instinctive ability for making sense out of the most abstract musical structures and conveying them to the listener. Throughout the performance her intonation was impeccable and her sound rich and focused no matter what dynamic level the music required. Read the rest of this entry »
by Mike Telin
Called “top-notch in all respects” (Sequenza 21) and “an artist to be reckoned with” (Gramophone), violinist and violist Miranda Cuckson is highly acclaimed for her performances of a wide range of repertoire, from early eras to the most current creations. “The core repertoire is still very much a part of me as a musician, but I feel I need to relate to the time that I am living in,” the engaging Cuckson said by telephone when asked why she chose to follow new music as her career path.
“I also just have a bit of an adventurous streak in terms of discovering new means of expression and new ways of making sounds and ways of playing my instrument. And the more I got into that the more fascinating I found it.”
On Monday, March 31 as part of Lorain County Community College’s Signature Series and on Tuesday, April 1 as part of the CMA@Transformer Station Series, Miranda Cuckson will present concerts featuring adventurous music for solo violin.
by Mike Telin
“Fred Frith is unique among improvisers in his ability to draw so effortlessly on such a wide variety of styles,” Oberlin Conservatory Assistant Professor of Computer Music and Digital Arts Peter Swendsen said during a recent telephone conversation. “His styles range from the purely sonic abstract worlds that we might think of as electro-acoustic, to things that draw extensively on popular forms, on jazz, on music for film and dance. His comfort zone is everything and everywhere.”
This week Northeast Ohio audiences will have two opportunities to hear the acclaimed songwriter, composer, improviser and multi-instrumentalist when Fred Frith performs concerts on Wednesday, February 26 at 8:00 pm in Fairchild Chapel (Bosworth Hall) at Oberlin College and Friday, February 28 at 7:30 pm as part of the CMA Concerts at Transformer Station series.
Swendsen, who studied with Frith while doing graduate work at Mills College, remembers him as a wonderful teacher who was very supportive. Read the rest of this entry »
by Mike Telin
Before the advent of electronic tuning devices there were tuning forks and musicians usually carried at least one in their instrument cases to use to set a pitch standard. Tuning forks also provide entertainment for people of all ages who want to experiment with sound vibrations: strike the fork and place the end on a table and hear how the sound changes when placed on a chair or on the floor.
And this a how musician, composer and performance artist Miya Masaoka began her CMA at Transformer Station series Concert on Sunday, February 16. For roughly 50 minutes, Masaoka presented three thoroughly engaging, extended improvisations featuring koto, electronics, lasers and tuning forks.
To be accurate, Masaoka used two differently-sized tuning forks as she methodically placed the forks on different surfaces, the sound altering ever so slightly with each placement. Read the rest of this entry »
by Mike Telin
It’s difficult to know where to begin a conversation with Miya Masaoka. It isn’t because there is a shortage of interesting topics to discuss. On the contrary, Masaoka has built a fascinating career that combines Western experimental improvisation with the tradition of her instrument of choice, the koto.
Since founding the San Francisco Gagaku Society, Masaoka has introduced new ways of thinking about and performing on the koto which include improvisation and expanding the instrument through the use of computers, lasers, live sampling, and real time processing. As a composer, Masaoka’s compositions often include the sound and movement of insects, as well as the physiological responses of plants, the human brain, and her own body.
On Sunday, February 16 beginning at 7:30 pm, you can hear Miya Masaoka in performance as part of the CMA Concerts at Transformer Station series. Read the rest of this entry »
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